


The Deal (Version Two)

by Kahtee



Category: Arrow (TV 2012), The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, F/M, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-07
Updated: 2020-11-29
Packaged: 2021-03-05 01:08:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,132
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25135918
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kahtee/pseuds/Kahtee
Summary: This is the reworked version of my older fanfic, 'The Deal.'Caitlin wants Ronnie's attention, and Barry wants Iris's. They decide that the best way to get the attention of those they like is to show them what great potential partners they are, by fake-dating each other. What could go wrong?
Relationships: Barry Allen/Caitlin Snow, all other relationships are minor - Relationship
Comments: 5
Kudos: 26





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> HI!!! I've finally got the guts to go ahead and rewrite this fic. I loved it two years ago, and still do, but it needed some work so that's what I am finally getting around to doing:) Hope you enjoy.

Barry Allen groaned at the amount of homework that Mr. Wells gave them. Why must there always be so much? Just because Physics was his favorite class, doesn't mean that he really wanted to be spending his entire weekend on it. At least it wasn’t History. That he could be thankful for.   
"Oh, come on, Barry, you know you love this class. I should be the one complaining. Physics sucks," Iris, Barry's best friend, said.  
"Yeah, I love this class, but that doesn't mean that I love homework," Barry said, looking down at his beautiful best friend. She was much shorter than him, 5'4" to his 6'2". Her long dark hair hung in a ponytail down her back. Her smile brightened as her boyfriend Eddie came into sight. Barry felt the familiar twinge of jealousy as Iris ran down the hallway and launched herself into Eddie's arms.  
"Hey, Barry. How's it going?" Eddie asked as he and Iris walked back to Barry.  
"Fine." Glancing down at his watch, he continued. "Listen, I gotta get to class. See ya later?" He didn't wait for a reply as he almost ran to his Drama class.  
"Cutting it kinda close, Aren't you?" Caitlin Snow asked as he sat in front of her.  
"Of course he is. It's Barry," Cisco Ramon cut in from the seat beside Barry.  
"Wow, thanks Cisco, I'm feeling the love," Barry teased. Their conversation was cut short, however, when their teacher walked in.  
\---  
Caitlin stole yet another glance at Ronnie Raymond. How could he be so perfect? She held back a sigh, knowing that it would be heard by Cisco, and she didn't need his knowing (and teasing) smile. She was frustrated enough during this class. It was the only one she actually shared with Ronnie.   
Caitlin automatically took her notes, only paying enough attention to the teacher to do so. Generally, this wasn’t the case, but this crush was really getting out of hand. Honestly, even mildly paying attention in class was a struggle now. She looked over at the boy sitting a couple of seats over and made a decision. She either had to get over him, which didn’t sound appealing, or get him to notice her, which sounded impossible.   
Caitlin spent most of the class trying to figure what to do. Every conceivable plan seemed doomed to fail. Finally, with five minutes left in the class, her eyes alighted on Barry. Everyone in their friend group knew he liked Iris. Everyone, of course, but Iris and Eddie. Maybe if they put their brains together they could help each other. She started writing furiously.


	2. Chapter 2

After class, Caitlin walked up to Barry, ignoring the voices in her head that told her that her plan wouldn't work. She pulled her books tighter to her body, not wanting to drop the one notebook that had all her not even half-baked plans in it. Walking faster, she still almost missed him.  
"Barry! Can I talk to you for a minute?" She called, almost hoping he didn't hear her. He did though, and turned around and walked over. His smile was a little uncertain, as Caitlin didn't often talk to people in between classes. She was focused, on a mission at all times. But the smile he shot her was bright, nonetheless.  
"Hey, Caitlin. What's up? You need help with something?" He asked. Caitlin gnawed on her bottom lip before she spoke.  
"Actually, yes. You like Iris, right?" Caitlin said. She'd cut straight to the point, hoping to cut short the embarrassment of Barry laughing at her stupid idea. She’d rather not beat around the bush.  
"Uhhhh, what makes you think that? Who told you?" The panic in his voice was almost funny. But the pity she felt for him overtook any humor. She gave a light laugh anyways, hoping to ease the conversation a bit.   
"Relax, Barry. Nobody told me. It was easy to tell from the way you look at her. And the obvious jealousy you feel for Eddie, and the almost subtle hints that you and she would be a good couple, and-"  
"Okay, I get it. You know. Who else knows?" Barry interrupted, glancing at the hallway he and Caitlin were almost in.  
"Well... Cisco, Oliver, and myself of course. Basically everyone except Iris and Eddie. Although if you keep talking like that, Eddie won't be in the dark much longer. Anyways, I have a proposal for you. Not marriage, obviously! It’s just, you like Iris, but she doesn't see you as boyfriend material, right? Well, I have a similar situation. I think we could help each other out." Caitlin ended her sentence with a glance at her watch. It was lunch, so they had a little time.  
Barry looked shocked, which was to be expected. "Help each other? How?"  
"By pretending to date each other." Caitlin kept her tone matter of fact, willing her voice to not betray how nervous she was about asking this of Barry. Everything in her screamed as Barry’s face contorted in confusion.   
"But won't that show them that we are off the market? Won't that defeat the purpose?" Barry asked, clearly rather shocked that this suggestion was coming from Caitlin, one of the most honest people he knew.   
"No. Listen, we need to get going, because everyone will be wondering where we are. But, if you come to my house after school, I'll explain more, and we can discuss this further. I mean, you don’t have to, but just think about it, please?" Caitlin countered, and then walked away, leaving Barry to mull as he followed at an unusually slow pace.  
\---  
Several hours and a lot of internal battling later, Barry caught up with Caitlin at the end of school.  
"Caitlin, when would be a good time to come over to your house? To talk?" Barry asked.  
"Um, how about 5:30? My family is usually done with dinner by then," Caitlin suggested, biting her lip subconsciously. She didn't think it'd get this far. Not that this was very far at all, but still. He wanted to at least hear her out, so that had to be a good sign, right?  
"Sounds good. I'll be there," he agreed, giving her a smile and a side hug before he went off. They both missed the glare that Ronnie Raymond sent their way.  
\---  
Later, as he walked up to Caitlin's house (he'd had to text her for the address when he realized that he'd never been there before, and didn't know where she lived), Barry took a deep breath of cold air before he knocked. When he did, a tall woman in a dark blue pantsuit and glasses opened the door.  
"You must be Caitlin's friend. She mentioned you'd be coming by. Well, come in," she said, stepping aside to let him in. He thanked her as he stepped through the door, and she introduced herself. "I'm Caitlin's mother, Carla." She held out her hand, which Barry took.  
"Barry Allen," He returned, smiling as well as he could. Caitlin's mother seemed nice enough, but her slightly cold demeanor left him with a vague feeling of terror. Momentarily he wondered how often Caitlin had people over. After all, they’d been friends for years and this was the first time he’d ever been here.   
"Caitlin is upstairs. Last door to the right." Carla walked off, leaving Barry to walk up the steep carpeted stairs that were off to the side of the door. He walked nearly to the end of the hall before he found the door. He knocked gently and waited until he heard a soft voice telling him to come in.  
He opened the door. He'd expected to see a bedroom, but instead, he walked into what looked like a library. Shelves full of books lined most of the walls. One wall had a set of French doors that appeared to lead out onto a balcony. In a corner of that wall, two pale blue chairs sat on either side of a small dark wood table. Caitlin was sitting in one of these chairs, looking much more casual than Barry had ever seen her.  
"I thought you changed your mind," she said, as he raised an eyebrow at her appearance. Her reddish-brown curls had been pulled up into a messy bun, and she had put on a soft cotton shirt that almost matched the chair she sat in. Her legs were clad in black leggings.  
"Yeah, sorry I'm late. Iris showed up, and I had to explain where I was going on a Tuesday night," he apologized. Caitlin smiled. She knew how often Iris showed up unannounced at her next-door neighbors house since he had almost no social life.  
"What did you tell her?" she asked.  
"I tried to stay as close to the truth as possible. I said I was coming here, but I said it was to study. Which passed because we are Biology partners," Barry explained, as Caitlin nodded.  
"Good. Please, sit down." Caitlin motioned to the other chair as she stood up, and walked to a small bar… counter… thing that Barry hadn't noticed before. "Would you like some tea? I have a large variety here," she asked as Barry sat down.  
"Uh, yeah, sure."  
"What flavor?"  
"Do you have chamomile?" Caitlin snorted softly at this.  
"Of course," she said, and poured hot water into a mug from a bright red water kettle. Then she opened a box, and pulled out a gauze bag, and dropped it in the mug. "Sugar or honey?"  
"Honey, please," Barry said. Caitlin nodded her acknowledgment and added some honey to the white mug. She walked over and handed it to him, then sat down. "So," Barry said, putting his tea down on the table to brew further. "You think we should pretend to date? Why?"  
"It's simple. Right now, Iris and Ronnie don't see us as people they'd want to date. Why? Because we don't date. Neither of us has had a boyfriend or girlfriend in years. Or in my case, ever.” Caitlin paused, clearing her throat before she continued. “So, if we pretend to date, then they'll see us as dateable material," Caitlin responded.  
"But, then that takes us off the market. Right?" Barry queried, taking a sip of his tea.  
"Well, after a while, we'll break up, and then they'll know we are available," she elaborated. Her teeth gnawed on her bottom lip as she surveyed Barry's face, looking for some sign as to whether he'd agree or not.  
Barry was silent for a few minutes. A chance to make Iris see that he was what a good boyfriend he'd make? Even make her jealous, if he was lucky? But then, what if it didn't work? What if this was all for nothing? He was so intent on these questions that he was silent for quite some time and didn't see Caitlin's face fall.  
"You don't have to do it if you don't want to. It was only an idea I had," she said, disappointment tainting her words. Barry thought for a second or so more and then spoke.  
"How long would we have to be 'together'?"  
Caitlin's face lit up. "Um, probably not too long. Maybe a couple of months. Only long enough to make them see that we'd each be a good boyfriend or girlfriend, but not so long as to make it seem like we're too serious." She said, looking down at a notebook that Barry had seen her pick up a while ago, but not paid much attention to. Caitlin put it on the table between them, and both changed their positions to be able to survey it better. Anyone looking at them would almost think they were 7, not 17, the way they were curled up oddly on the chairs.  
The page the notebook was covered in notes, some of them in shorthand, some not. Caitlin's handwriting was clear and pretty, but her shorthand made absolutely no sense to Barry whatsoever. They spent the next two hours deciphering Caitlin's vague plans, some of which even she couldn't remember what she was trying to convey.   
Several cups of tea had passed before something Caitlin said really hit him.   
“Wait.” He said. Caitlin looked up at him from over the brim of her mug.   
“What?”  
“Ronnie? You like Ronnie?”   
“Barry… how on earth didn’t you know that? I also said that hours ago.”  
“I know, but it just never occurred to me that Ronnie would be your type.”  
“Why not?”  
“Well, I don’t really know. I just, I guess I never really thought about who you would like.”  
“If I’m being honest, Ronnie isn’t exactly my type. But he and I hung out at a few functions that both of our parents attended, and I don’t know… I just really like him. He’s nice.” A deep blush spread across Caitlin’s cheeks as she spoke. “So, anyway, back to the paper?” She said, trying to hide her pink cheeks with her mug. Barry took mercy on her and let her be.


	3. Chapter 3

The next day, Barry spent a good part of his morning studying the notebook paper that held the plans for the day. They were simple. All Barry and Caitlin had to do for the next couple weeks, in fact, was act like they were getting over Ronnie and Iris. Which was easier said than done, as it meant no spending boring classes staring dreamily at them. And it also meant no “subtle” remarks about what a great couple Barry and Iris would make.  
But because of all his time spent studying the paper and dreaming, Barry missed the bus. Fortunately, his dad was home and could take him. But he was still late to school because his dad took forever to get ready to leave the house. He was tardy for his first class. Not the first time this type of thing had happened though, so Barry wasn't too stressed about it.  
All day, both Barry and Caitlin struggled with their task. So much so, in fact, that Caitlin was visibly stressed.  
"Caitlin, are you okay? You look like you're coming down with something," Cisco said, concern showing in both his tone and expressions.  
"I'm fine. Just a little stressed," Caitlin replied. It wasn't an exact lie. Pretending to be getting over Ronnie was proving to be far more difficult than it should be, and it was only day one. She prayed it'd get easier.  
It did, but only by a little. Caitlin and Barry met once more over the week, under the guise of studying, to discuss their plans. The next week, also known as Phase Two, would be broaching the subject of getting over Iris and Ronnie to their friends. Not at the same time though, because that would be suspicious. Slow and steady. That's how they'd go about it.  
The Plan was going pretty well so far, so they should have known that there would be a bump soon.  
It came in the form of Oliver Queen, who lived across the street from Caitlin. He usually drove her to school, and the sunny Monday morning was no different. Barry had come over the night before, this time to actually study. They'd decided that in order for people to believe them, real studying would have to happen. Caitlin got into Oliver's car, and they started talking. They'd gone about a block before Oliver almost caused Caitlin to have a heart attack. They'd been talking about one of the classes they had together, when Oliver changed the subject.  
"How's it going with Ronnie?" He asked, smirking a little bit when Caitlin choked on her tea from her thermos. Caitlin and Oliver were good friends, with all the time they spent together. And, of course, the fact that they had known each other their whole lives. But Oliver was not the feelings type, and so they never talked about crushes or anything. Like, ever.  
"I'm sorry, what?" she said, after getting her choking under control.  
"How are things going with Ronnie? I mean, you've liked him for a while. But, I don't know; recently you haven't acted like it," Oliver elaborated, eyes never leaving the road.  
Caitlin sighed before she answered. "Honestly... I don't know. I guess I've - I've just realized it wasn't meant to be. He's never seen me in that way, and he never will." The lie didn't come out quite as smoothly as she'd hoped, but that may have been for the best. If the lie was too smooth, Oliver might not buy it. She missed his raised eyebrow, as she was staring out her window with determination.  
"So it wouldn't have to anything to do with the fact that Barry Allen has been to your house quite a few times these past couple weeks?" He teased, glancing over at Caitlin, unable to see her cheeks redden.  
"Three times is not 'quite a few,' Oliver. We're friends. That's all," Caitlin said, her voice intentionally a tad too loud to be believable. This was rushing the plan more than Caitlin was comfortable with but come on. It was Oliver. She always knew that he'd be the first to suspect something was up. He lived across the street from her, for crying out loud. Plus he had almost superhuman observation skills. The blush though, was unintentional. She took deep, silent breaths, trying to cool her flaming cheeks.  
"For you it is. You never have anyone but Cisco over, and even that is rather intermittent." Oliver gave a small shrug of his shoulders.  
"Intermittent? Are you actually using that word of the day calendar I got you? Anyways, what's with the third degree? I wouldn't think you'd care." She turned to face him, now that her blush was going down.  
"Yeah, although I got behind when I went on that boat trip with Dad. Forgot to pack it. Anyway. Why wouldn't I care? We've been friends our whole lives, Caitlin. I'm only saying, you should be careful. We all know that Barry's in love with Iris," he said, his tone matter of fact.  
"I know that. I don't have feelings for Barry. I just enjoy his company when studying. It's possible I've realized that I don't need to be alone all the time," Caitlin argued, not sure why her temper was rising so quickly. Who did Oliver think he was, anyway? Who was he to tell her who she could and could not like? Beneath the anger, Caitlin knew that's not what he meant, but she didn't care. They pulled into the school parking lot, and Caitlin got out of the car. As she walked away, she completely missed the look that Oliver gave her. He hadn't meant to hurt her.


End file.
